


Someday, You're Gonna See The Things That I See

by h5mcdann0



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Amnesia, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Photography
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-28
Updated: 2019-10-14
Packaged: 2020-10-30 04:13:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,994
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20808335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/h5mcdann0/pseuds/h5mcdann0
Summary: "You have a story to tell and I want to be the one to tell it."Every part of Steve was telling him to not do it, to say no. Yet, despite everything, he still trusted Danny with his life. If this was how it was going to be from now on, then so be it. “What did you have in mind?”





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've had so much fun writing this and am glad I finally get to share this with you all!! I'm not sure how often I'll update yet (shoutout to grad school), but I'm planning on posting a new chapter every other week.

“I’m sorry sir, his injuries were severe. We won’t know the extent of the damage until he regains consciousness.”

Steve collapsed into the plastic waiting room chair, trying to hold back tears “I want to see him.”

The doctor put a reassuring hand on Steve’s shoulder, “We can’t let you go until he wakes up, but I’ll be back with updates as soon as I have them.”

Steve watched dejectedly as the doctor walked away. He hung his head in his hands, “God, that should’ve been me,” he trailed off. 

Chin crouched down in front of him, “Hey, don’t think like that. None of this was your fault.” He said reassuringly. 

Kono sat down next to them. “Yeah boss, Danny’s a strong guy. He’ll pull through.”

Some part of him knew that his friends were just trying to help, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was horribly _wrong_. Everything had been going so well up until that moment. He truly felt like he’d never been happier in his entire life. Now Danny was fighting for his life and there was nothing Steve could do but wait. 

Rachel and the kids rushed in a few minutes later. He pulled Grace and Charlie into a tight hug, trying his best to soothe them. It didn’t help that their mother was borderline hysterical. Steve couldn’t blame her though, he was in the same place. 

A nurse walked into the room, “Friends and family of Daniel Williams?” she called out. 

They all stood, Steve had to particularly stop himself from sprinting the distance between them. 

She calmly smiled, “He’s awake now, you’re welcome to go back to his room. It’s 310, if you’ll all just follow me.” She gestured to the hallway behind her. 

Steve let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. Everything would be alright. He’d help Danny recover and they’d be back to their lives in no time. That is, until he saw the doctor waiting outside of Danny’s room with a somber look and his heart sank again. Steve got to the room and watched as the nurse went inside to help Danny sit up. He had to tear his eyes away in order to meet the doctor’s. 

“Commander, there’s no easy way for me to say this…” he started, looking throughout the group, “it seems as though his memory has been affected by the accident. You all should prepare yourselves before going in.”

It was like a switch had been flipped inside Steve’s head. He knew he had to put on a strong front for the others, any emotions he had were locked away to be dealt with later. Steve looked between his friends’ worried faces, “Why don’t I go first?”

He caught the door as the nurse was coming out. Steve looked at her for a moment, trying to figure out any clues about Danny’s condition. Eventually, he stole himself and walked into the room. He did his best to hold back a sob the second he saw Danny. Nothing over the course of his years in the Navy or on 5-0 had prepared him for what he felt when he saw his partner’s body covered in bandages, broken and bruised. Steve slowly walked to the bedside as Danny began to stir. He gently took Danny’s hand in his, “Hey Danno, how are you feeling?”

Danny blinked open his eyes, confusion etched across his face, “Sorry...who are you?”

~-~-~ 


	2. Chapter 2

_ Good Morning Commander, _

_ Please schedule a time for your physical fitness examination so that we may continue- _

“Hey Steve?”

Steve looked up from his laptop, quickly closing the message for good measure, “Hey Chin, what’s up?”

Chin walked into the office, shutting the glass door softly behind him. He moved to lean against the desk, crossing his arms over his chest, “It’s Danny.”

Steve couldn’t breathe. He shot out of his seat, “What about Danny? Is he alright?”

“Hey, take it easy, he’s perfectly alright,” Chin held out his hands, trying to calm Steve down. “Steve, you should know something though. He’s here.”

A hopeful smile spread across Steve’s face, “He’s here? Does he remember?”

Chin sighed, “It’s possible. I’m going down to get him now, said he wanted to see you...” he paused, “I just don’t want you to get your hopes up for nothing okay? I know how hard this has been for you-”

Steve, seemingly not listening, gently pushed Chin towards the door instead. “I know, but just please go quickly.”

He watched as Chin shook his head and headed towards the elevators nonetheless. Steve was in complete disbelief.  _ Danny is  _ here _ , at the Palace. Surely that meant everything would be back to normal,  _ he thought. The last few months without Danny by his side had been absolute hell for Steve. Danny came into his life like a storm all those years ago and Steve just couldn’t live without him. Steve knew Chin and Danny would be there any second and did his best to remain neutral. He went out into the bullpen where Lou and Kono were waiting. 

Kono was practically bouncing in place like a giddy schoolgirl, “Can you believe it? He finally remembered!”

“Kono, you know we can’t assume that,” Lou chided.

Steve saw him before he could respond. Danny looked exactly the same, except for the sleek tie around his neck. Red flags immediately went off in Steve’s mind, something had to be wrong. 

“...And this is the rest of 5-0,” Chin gestured towards the group, “Meet Kono Kalakaua, Lou Grover, and Steve McGarrett.”

Danny shook Kono and Lou’s hands. “Ah, so this is the famous Commander McGarrett I’ve heard so much about.” He said, stopping in front of Steve. 

Steve met Chin’s eyes long enough to see him subtly shake his head and plastered the fakest smile on before taking Danny’s hand in his own. Everything felt wrong about this. He thought back to the first time they met and almost shot each other in the process. Steve sadly wondered if this Danny resembled the Danny he knew at all. If their handshake went on for a little too long, neither of them brought it up. “I see my reputation precedes me. So what can I do for you, Mr. Williams?” Steve absolutely hated the awkwardness between them. 

“Please, call me Danny. I actually wanted to talk to you, all of you,” Danny said, looking around the team, “but mostly you, Commander.”

Steve glanced at the others, they all nodded along reassuringly. He honestly had no idea what Danny would’ve come all this way for. “Alright, follow me.”

He led Danny back to his office and motioned for him to sit down. Steve leaned against his own desk, a million scenarios running through his head. Danny, on the other hand, was a bit too invested in looking at Steve’s Navy memorabilia to notice the expectant look on his face. 

“Sorry,” Danny started sheepishly, “it’s just, your time in the Navy must’ve been very important to you. What made you leave?”

_ If only you knew… _ “I found something that made me want to stay here.” Steve watched as Danny seemed to ponder his answer. The whole situation was starting to get unnerving. He didn’t blame Danny for not remembering, but that didn’t stop him from wanting to yell until Danny did. “So what did you want to talk about?”

Danny instantly lit up, “Oh yeah, so I don’t know if you’re familiar, but I’m a photographer for the  _ Hawaiian Star _ .”

Steve felt his heart break that much more. Of course he was familiar, he’d been paying for a subscription to the magazine ever since he found out Danny started working there. Although, he’d never admit it, he was amazed by Danny’s photography skills. Steve simply nodded and waited for Danny to continue. 

“Well we thought it’d be cool to do a story on you and the rest of 5-0.” Danny said, smiling hopefully. 

Steve was taken aback. He could think of several reasons why that should never happen. “That’s very kind, but I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

Danny was visibly surprised, “What? Why not? You guys make such a difference on the island, yet no one knows anything about you. Wouldn’t it be nice to show a different side of 5-0?”

Steve shook his head and got up to look out the window instead. This was all getting to be too overwhelming and he knew that he couldn’t bear being around Danny like this. He also knew how stubborn Danny was. Steve started scanning the area outside the Palace out of habit when he saw it. Danny’s Camaro was parked in its usual spot and he couldn’t help but remember all of the memories they shared in it. 

“It’s nice right?” 

Danny’s voice brought Steve back to reality. He didn’t notice when Danny got up to stand next to him. They were almost touching and all Steve wanted to do was pull Danny in and never let him go. Instead, he forced himself to put distance between them. “Yeah, my old partner had one actually. I think I drove it more than he did though.” Steve said, trying to gauge Danny’s reaction. 

Danny just laughed, “wow he must’ve really loved you or something, I would hate never getting to drive my own car.”

Steve turned away and tried focussing on anything that would take the pain away. He felt as though someone had ripped his heart out and stomped on it in front of him. The worst part was that there was nothing he could do about it. He needed Danny to leave,  _ now _ . “If you really want to do this story, you can talk to the others. I don’t want to be in it.”

He sat down at his desk and looked up in time to see the determined expression on Danny’s face. Steve knew from experience that it usually came right before Danny got his way. 

“Do you stay at work all the time?”

Steve was confused yet again, “No, why-”

“Then you have a story to tell and I want to be the one to tell it.” Danny said matter-of-factly. He sat down next to Steve. “C’mon, just let me photograph you for a bit. You’ll be in complete control of what we do together, I’ll even show you the photos afterwards. If you still don’t want to be in it then I won’t include the shots.” 

Every part of Steve was telling him to not do it, to say no. Yet, despite everything, he still trusted Danny with his life. If this was how it was going to be from now on, then so be it. “What did you have in mind?”

~-~-~

Steve was beyond exhausted by the time he got home that evening. The team spent the better part of the day figuring out shoot ideas with Danny. He was actually quite interested in seeing how the story turned out. Judging from the work he’d already seen, Steve knew that Danny was brilliant behind the camera. He vaguely wondered if this would’ve been Danny’s life had he never joined law enforcement. 

He opened the fridge to grab a cool water bottle and headed out to the lanai, where he dropped into one of the chairs and gazed out to sea. While he was mentally drained, his body was still buzzing with excitement. Seeing Danny today gave him the slightest hope that he’d remember everything one day soon. Steve was so conflicted, the pain from losing Danny always overtaking the possibility of getting him back. 

The soft lull of the ocean waves calmed him in a way. He learned early on that timing his breathing with the push and pull of the water was the easiest way to ground himself when he was alone. Steve eventually mustered the energy to drag himself back inside and up to his room, where he fell into a restless sleep. 

~-~-~

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> As always, thank you for reading!! I'm @h5mcdann0 on tumblr, come say hi!! : )


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